Californians cut use of water 13.5%
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Californians are using less water, but they’ll have to conserve a lot more to achieve the mandatory cuts taking effect this month, according to the latest numbers released Tuesday.
California residents reduced overall water usage by 13.5 percent compared to the same month in the benchmark year of 2013, water officials said.
That’s the second-best conservation achievement since state officials started closely tracking water use more than a year ago but falls short of the 25 percent cuts Gov. Jerry Brown made mandatory for cities and towns as of June 1.
Administration meets health-care goal
WASHINGTON – More than 10 million people have signed up for private health insurance this year under President Barack Obama’s law, the administration said Tuesday.
That puts the nation finally within reach of coverage for all, but it may not last.
The report from the Department of Health and Human Services comes as dozens of insurers are proposing double-digit premium hikes for next year, raising concerns about future affordability. And the Supreme Court is weighing the legality of subsidized premiums for millions of consumers in more than 30 states.
IRS failed to enact security upgrades
WASHINGTON –The IRS failed to implement dozens of security upgrades to its computer systems, some of which could have made it more difficult for hackers to use an IRS website to steal tax information from 104,000 taxpayers, a government investigator told members of Congress Tuesday.
The agency’s inspector general couldn’t say whether the upgrades would have prevented the breach.
But, he added, “I can say it would have been much more difficult had they implemented all of the recommendations that we made.”
Associated Press
